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Friday, March 16, 2012

Funnies from the Fen

OHHHH I just couldn't help myself on that one...... OK OK OK So here is a funny sent in by longtime blog follower, fellow weather prognosticator, and old friend Possum

Makes ya stop an think, doesn't it!!!!

Anyway, there have been some questions about the logistics of the Mutton Hunk Fen Project i am part of.

Entire Project area= 418 acres

2010 area planted= 35 acres

2011 area planted= 75 acres

2012 area planted = 110 acres

For those of you who may find this a spacial challenge to get your ming wrapped around, your typical home lot of 1/4 acre is 100' x 100' approximately. An acre is 208' x 208'.

Our friend Abe Lincoln said that he thought that would be very close plantings of the Oak Trees. BUT numbers wise we have just 500 Oaks for the 110 acres giving us 4.5 trees per acre. Not every acre will get trees. There are certain really wet spots that will be eliminated as will areas near the bay due to eventual 'sea level rise' and the Nor'easter's we are known for. I will try Tuesday to get a good picture showing the trees. Those half trees are the hardest to plant though. Root ball falls apart every time.

Then someone asked what kind of Oaks we are planting. The short answer is ones that like wet toes and can tolerate salt spray. Remember this land is near sea level (at the most elevation is 15 ft) and bordered by saltwater. Oh yea,,, did i mention that the Atlantic Ocean is just a mile away across Metompkin Bay???? (If they grew Pop Corn here you would never have to add salt...:-)....)

Our first load were Willow Oaks Quercus phellos. They really like this wet environment.

Next is Water Oak Quercus nigra. This one is in the Red Oak family and is sometimes called Spotted Oak or Possum Oak.

This coming week i think we are planting White Oak Quercus alba. Another long lived common Oak found all over the Eastern US.

And finally Red Oak Quercus rubra. Again a very common Oak in the red family, and the state tree of New Jersey.

All of these trees are native to our area, which is a major criteria for our projects. All of our plantings are "Native Plants". ANd yes for those of you thinking that this area will eventually turn into a forest, that is the whole idea. Our goal is preserving or restoring our "Natural Heritage". Or in another way, parks are for people and Natural Area Preserves are for critters. Again, Tuesday i will post pictures of the first area we did back in 2010. Along with the native grasses in that first area, you can find some of the Oaks, but the Lob Lolly Pines, Pinus Taeda, have really taken hold of the area.

This weekend we start our new, improved, and decidedly smaller garden area. I bet the Princess will take a picture or two,,,, ya think?????Greneville

8 comments:

I think that project is great! Would be fun to walk there when it has become a forest but I think I'll be long gone by then :-) But trees do grow faster that south than they do up here. So maybe I'll get a chance to buy a plane ticket and go there after all :-)